Global Google worker walk out to protest ‘office harassment’ and ‘inequality’
- Demonstrations follow a newspaper report claiming Google gave a US$90 million exit package to a former executive accused of sexual harassment
- Protests in Tokyo, Singapore, Zurich and London expected to be followed by walk outs in the US
Hundreds of Google employees and contractors across Asia staged brief midday walkouts on Thursday, with thousands more expected to follow at offices worldwide, amid claims of sexism, racism and unchecked executive power in their workplace.
In a statement late on Wednesday, the organisers called on Google parent Alphabet to add an employee representative to its board of directors and internally share pay-equity data. They also asked for changes to Google’s human resources practices intended to make bringing harassment claims a fairer process.
Demonstrations at the company’s offices around the world began at 11.10am in Tokyo and took place at the same time in other time zones. An image from the Singapore hub showed at least 100 staff protesting.
Greater numbers appeared on the streets outside Google’s Swiss office in Zurich.
In London, most employees left their desks and occupied the main auditorium in the company’s King’s Cross office. Once the room was full, some gathered outside, as did a separate contingent of employees from the company’s AI subsidiary, DeepMind, prompting confusion from those who did not recognise their corporate siblings.
“I’m here protesting against harassment in the workplace, to make sure we don’t protect or support those perpetrators of harassment,” one demonstrator told Sky News. “People are supporting those who have been harassed in any workplace situation, by any employer, and this is just part of the movement.”